Greenwich girls soccer team upends St. Joseph

David Fierro

Published 5:22 pm, Saturday, September 29, 2012

Sensing his team needed a spark offensively against a formidable St. Joseph squad, Greenwich High School girls soccer coach Danny Simpson decided to change the Cardinals' formation Saturday.

And in doing so, he changed the Cardinals fortunes.

Greenwich switched from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, playing with an extra forward in hope of generating more opportunities offensively.

The strategy paid off for Greenwich, which used a big first half to defeat rival St. Joseph, 3-1, at Cardinal Stadium in a rematch of last year's FCIAC Tournament semifinals.

Molli Haimerl scored twice for the two-time defending FCIAC champion Cardinals, who posted a 4-1 win over the Cadets in last fall's league semifinals.

"Our team is working real well together," Haimerl said. "The 4-3-3 worked great today. Coming out with a 3-1 lead in the first half was important."

Despite beating St. Joseph in the league tournament last season GHS entered Saturday's matchup feeling it had something to prove.

"We knew this was one of our biggest games of the season, so we had to come out firing," GHS senior midfielder/tri-captain Emma Christie said. "Even though we beat them in the playoffs we lost to them in the regular season last year, so we wanted to avenge that loss."

Haimerl helped the Cardinals flourish against one of the top teams in the league. Receiving a pass on the right wing from senior forward Stephanie Gittings, the senior forward put a move on a St. Joseph defender, then blasted a shot from 20 yards out past junior goalie Molly Meehan, putting the Cardinals in front, 1-0, 7:23 into the first half.

"We've been working on that in practice, getting good shots off," Haimerl said. "I was happy I was able to do that in a game."

Christie's perfectly-placed corner kick deflected off a Cadets defender and found its way into the goal giving Greenwich (5-1-1) a 2-0 advantage in the 22nd minute.

"I've been working on my corner kicks, hopefully that will help me get back on track," Christie said. "The first half we showed a lot of energy and took advantage of our chances."

In the 33rd minute, Meehan veered far out of the goal to retrieve the ball, but appeared to have a miscommunication with one of the Cadets' defenders. Charging the goal, Haimerl knocked the ball into the open net.

"I like how we didn't give up on the play and put pressure on the defender, causing confusion," Simpson said. "We really challenged their defense. I think tweaking the formation a little bit, moving to a 4-3-3 paid dividends."

Junior Sabrina Toole's goal with 6:31 to go in the first half, cut Greenwich's advantage to 3-1.

"The last 10 minutes of the first half and the entire second half we did a better job of competing and generating chances," St. Joseph coach Jack Nogueira said. "Two mistakes in the first half led to two unfortunate goals."

The Cadets (4-2-1) played without junior standout forward Sami Grasso, who is sidelined with an injured ankle.

"Sami has not been with us for five games, so that's a big deal," Nogueira said. "But we have 11 other players out there and we have to play through the injury."

The Cadets threatened to cut into the Cards' lead in the second half, but were turned away by sophomore goalie Kylie Ginsburg (seven saves). Ginsburg made a diving save on a shot by freshman Jenna Bike in the 60th minute, then jumped high to stop an arcing shot from Bike in the 75th minute. Senior tri-captain Emily Johnson ignited the Cards in the midfield, while senior tr-captain Sarah Mischianti, junior Caroline Markowitz and junior Megan Bartholomew led the backline.

"Emily Johnson was fantastic for us, she won every header, every tackle," Simpson said. "Sarah has given us back-to-back great performances."

Indeed, the Cardinals know they made statement with Saturday's victory.

"This win will put us on the map with all the top teams in the FCIAC," Mischianti said. "We are one of the teams that should be feared and everyone is going to want to play their best against us. If they don't, they will be punished."